Heartbreaker

Pretty boy Ace Young voted off 'American Idol'

Does talent really matter on "American Idol," or is it just a popularity contest, as some critics and music snobs suggest?

Fans of the show seemed to send conflicting answers to that question after their votes were tallied and one more finalist's dreams of pop stardom were dashed on Wednesday night.

Ace Young is out. And Kellie Pickler is in.

She's not only in, she may be invincible.

Both hopefuls met the superficial prerequisites for long-term success on "Idol": captivating eyes, beaming smile and lengthy, luxurious, almost-wanna-cut-it-while-they're-sleeping kind of hair. Both have turned in more ear-plugging performances than head-turners.

Perhaps Pickler is onto something with her bid to turn each show into the Grand Ole Opry. After losing her place and becoming utterly befuddled during "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" on Tuesday night, Pickler immediately owned up to her mistake and turned on the southern charm.

"I butchered it!" she shouted, followed by a moose-like sob. After host Ryan Seacrest and Pickler lamented that she couldn't take a second stab at singing the song for viewers, she pouted, "I won't put you through the torture."

Cue the "awws!" in the audience.

Usually, such a false step is the kiss of death on the Fox reality show. In fact, Melissa McGhee became the first casualty of the finals after forgetting the lyrics to her song. But Pickler didn't even rank in the bottom three among vote-getters on Wednesday night.

The irony is that Young, who had been no stranger to the threat of elimination, had one of his most impressive outings, based on judge's comments. Even Simon Cowell, his most ardent heckler, called his rendition of "That's All" "charming."

Perhaps the genre hurt him and other contenders. With the seven finalists singing American classics, Paris Bennett and Chris Daughtry appeared to turn in two of the strongest performances--with rocker Daughtry meeting Cowell's challenge to sing a ballad. But the pair found themselves standing next to Young in the bottom three.

When questioned by Seacrest, Cowell refused to take the blame for Daughtry's hiccup (perhaps the sappy "What a Wonderful World" turned off his hard-core fans). "I wasn't the one who was singing, Ryan."

Cowell added, "Ace, I think you'll end up going home tonight."

Young didn't appear sad or surprised that Cowell's prediction came true. "I've had a blast," he said. "I can't wait to perform with all the top 10 [finalists] and see all my fans that have seen me through the TV."